Inter-Agency Technical Committee of the Forum of Ministers of the Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean
II. Types of natural disasters, impact on the environment and infrastructure. Environmental considerations in the natural disaster management cycle
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II. Types of natural disasters, impact on the environment and infrastructure. Environmental considerations in the natural disaster management cycleIn the last decades, the most important natural phenomena (according to their world-wide recurrence) have been: floods, tiphones and hurricanes, wind and snow storms, heat waves, cold fronts, thunder-storms landslides and avalanches, tsunamis, earthquakes, hail, frost, drought, and sand and dust storms. Statistical analysis of catastrophes of natural origin shows that, in the last century, hydro-meteorological type of disasters have increased in frequency while geological ones (seismic, volcanic) have maintained their historical levels. Table I shows the relations between natural disasters and environmental vulnerability (expressed as: effects on the geomorphology and the ecology, damages on infrastructure, and consequences on agriculture and forestry –production sectors). Table 1. Types of disasters and their effects on geomorphology and ecology, infrastructure, and agriculture and forestry
Source: Adaptado de Frederick C. Cuny, Disasters and prevention, Oxford University Press, Nueva York, 1983. The disaster management cycle: environmental considerationsIn order to reduce physical, social, economic and environmental vulnerability, and to decrease the impact of extreme natural events, strategic frameworks to face natural disasters, are needed. Such frameworks should take into and incorporate environmental variables into the different phases of the disaster management cycle (ex-ante and ex-post). The absence of rules and regulations (or their enforcement) to order the establishment of human activities in high-risk areas, combined with the progressive deterioration of the environment due to human activities, are one example of a situation contributing to an increase in the impact of natural disasters. The strategic framework of the disaster management cycle (see Figure 1) foresees that prevention, mitigation and preparation measures be introduced in the restoration, reconstruction and definition of policies for national development, in order to ameliorate the impact of future disasters. The disaster management cycle can be divided in six major phases: response, recuperation, development, prevention, mitigation and preparedness. The first three phases correspond to the so called ex-post state; i.e. the response that is given after a disaster takes place, such as humanitarian aid (including life-saving activities), reconstruction of basic infrastructure (roads, hospitals, houses). The second three stages correspond to the so called ex-ante phase, i.e. those measures intended for the prevention and mitigation of the impact of a disaster. With the exception of the “response phase” immediately after a disaster hits (which is basically of emergency and humanitarian aid nature), all the other phases should take into account environmental variables, particularly the three ex-ante phases. Together, those three phases reflect the degree of preparedness of a community to face a disaster. Similarly, ECLAC divides the ex-post stage in three phases: emergency response, rehabilitation and recuperation (immediate or after a transition period), and reconstruction (ECLAC, 1991). In this approach, the processes of mitigation and reduction of vulnerability and risk, are associated with the reconstruction phase. Thus, the emergency phase covers the time just after the catastrophe occurred. Life saving is the priority in this phase. During this stage, different groups like police, health brigades, transport, communications, power, and water concentrate on repairing basic services, under the coordination of emergency response authorities. The rehabilitation or transition period covers the time it takes to restore the main services and the most essential social infrastructure; i.e. building temporary housing and reestablishing transportation and basic public services. Measures taken during this phase are aimed at assisting the affected communities to return to “normal” labor life. The reconstruction phase covers the time needed to replace physical infrastructures, services and production systems damaged during the disaster. Such replacement implies an improvement relative to the previous conditions (new standards to mitigate vulnerability and reduce risks). This could be in the form of design improvement, activity and housing relocation, current housing reinforcement, and a general improvement in the level of institutional preparation and prevention. Integrating environmental aspects in this stage of the process is fundamental to achieve reconstruction plans that can ensure lower impacts (or none) of possible future natural disasters.
In many occasions, reconstruction plans do not necessarily take into account environmental variables and factors to the extent necessary; thus running the risk of repeating mistakes, many of them fatal since there is cumulative effect of most of those factors, rendering the pre-existing environment more vulnerable to the impact of new disasters. Disaster prevention and environmental issues should be included in the development agenda of the countries, with the aim of converting them to State policy. The agenda should be holistic, encompassing economic and social themes, and have a strong scientific foundation.
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